How Kyran Otto Graduated Accounting, Summa Cum Laude

Pietermaritzburg’s Kyran Otto had always been a top performer. He earned a scholarship to study at one of the best high schools in Kwazulu-Natal, passed matric with distinction, passed the internationally sought after Cambridge accredited AS (Advanced Subsidiary) and A (Advanced) Levels with distinction and he was a member of the Academic Council and Prefect Body. With an overall pass mark of over 80%, he would go on to register for a degree in Accounting at the University of Kwazulu-Natal and once again, repeat what he had achieved in high school. 

During his 3 years at university, he completed 28 subjects and passed with distinction, in 27 of those subjects. When he graduated in 2024, he did so Summa Cum Laude, the highest honour a university student can achieve.

Now, to pass with distinction simply means that Kyran passed with A’s and to pass Summa Cum Laude means that he did so with a total of more than 80% for all three years of study. Of course, he did quite a bit more than just pass with distinction. 

During his time at university, he received the Dean’s Commendation for Academic excellence in all three years, was awarded the SAICA (South African Institute of Chartered Accountants) Certificate of Excellence for Financial Accounting and Auditing, and he was awarded the Malegapuru W Makgoba Scholarship; the  GC Weightman Smith Scholarship, and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship. 

Kyran was also the President of his Golden Key Society Chapter, an Ambassador for the College of Law and Management Studies, a Class Representative, an academic tutor, an academic mentor and he was also a youth leader in his church. 

Now, Kyran is not a qualified accountant yet and still has a few more years to achieve this goal. In 2025, he registered for and graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in the Theory of Accounting and he is currently doing his articles at Deloitte as an Audit Assistant. He is well on his way to achieving this goal and it is fairly certain that he will succeed.

Kyran is most grateful to his parents who had sacrificed everything to make sure that their son had the best opportunities to become a success in life. He says that neither of them had the opportunity to attend university so he is very proud of the fact that he could thank them with his academic achievements.